Sex differences exist with regards to ligament and tendon injuries. Lower collagen synthesis has been observed in exercising women vs. men, and in users of oral contraceptives (OC) vs. nonusers, but it is unknown if OC will influence tendon biomechanics of women undergoing regular training. Thirty female athletes (handball players, 18-30 yr) were recruited: 15 long-term users of OC (7.0 ± 0.6 y...

INTRODUCTION TO PATELLAR FRACTURES ASSESSMENT OF PATELLAR FRACTURES Patellar Fracture Injury Mechanisms Injuries Associated with Patellar Fractures Signs and Symptoms Imaging and Other Diagnostic Studies Classification Outcome Measures PATHOANATOMY AND APPLIED ANATOMY RELATING TO PATELLA FRACTURES Osseous Anatomy Arterial Blood Supply Soft Tissue Anatomy BIOMECHANICS OF THE EXTENSOR MECHANISM P...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the existence of differences in the rehabilitation of patients after ACL reconstruction using bone-patellar tendon-bone graft and the four-strand semitendinosus and gracilis tendon grafts, through a literature revision. The researched databases were MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, COCHRANE and PEDro. The inclusion criteria were published studies with methodolo...

BACKGROUND After ligament reconstruction, mechanical deterioration of the grafted tendon is observed with revascularization and cellular infiltration. However, the effect of cellular infiltration on the mechanical properties of the tendon matrix has not been fully understood. METHODS Cultured fibroblasts derived from the rabbit patellar tendon were seeded around an acellular rabbit patellar t...

Patellar tendinopathy is a common and difficult-to-treat overuse injury of the patellar tendon with a very negative impact on the careers of many athletes. It appears to involve a failed healing process in the tendon--not inflammation--and has consequences for the treatment strategy. Rehabilitation programs are based on the principles of load reduction and an eccentric exercise program to impro...

Tendon stiffness may be involved in limiting peak musculoskeletal forces and thus may constitute an upper limit for bone strength. The patellar tendon bone (PTB) graft, which is harvested from the patellar tendon during surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), is an ideal scenario to test this hypothesis. Eleven participants were recruited who had undergone surgical reco...

Patellar tendinopathy is very common in patients complaining of anterior knee pain. Its aetiology is still unclear, but neovascularisation seems to play a role. Different treatments have been proposed overtime, from rehabilitation to platelet-rich-plasma injections, but there is no agreement on the best treatment protocol. The final stage of patellar tendinopathy is patellar tendon rupture. In ...

BACKGROUND Increased tendon production of the inflammatory mediator prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) has been suggested to be a potential etiologic agent in the development of tendinopathy. Repeated injection of PGE2 into tendon has been proposed as a potential animal model for studying treatments for tendinopathy. In contrast, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which inhibit PGE2 production ...

Superior patellar dislocation is a very rare pathology, which happens in middle age. We report a case of spontaneous superior patellar dislocation, which occurred at 30 years of age. Differential diagnosis is patellar tendon rupture, which could be reliably excluded by clinical examination and radiographs. Reduction manoeuvres should be tried with diluted intra-articular local anaesthetic for h...

PURPOSE To report outcomes of revision anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using tibial or hamstring tendon allografts and to compare with another study using non-irradiated fresh-frozen bone-patellar tendon-bone allografts. METHODS Records of 12 men and 7 women aged 18 to 53 (mean, 33) years who underwent revision ACL reconstructions using tibial tendon (n=17) or hamstring tendon...